Tale of Two Benders
by ChilledRazor
Summary: Fire, while most think of it as dangerous and evil, Rin Narukami Thinks otherwise. He believes that there are good fire benders out there, who hate the rule of Fire Lord Ozai, just as much as he does, but adulthood comes quickly when the thirteen year old discovers a ancient ruin, where he meets a girl who changes his life for good. Things are going to get interesting.
1. Chapter 1: The Isle of Fochu

**Hello everybody! Chilled here with my first ever story "Tale of Two Benders" This was the first chapter of a story I wrote a few months back. Please Tell me what you think of it and if you want more or if you want to give me some criticism, please feel free to tell me.**

 **Though I've rambled on long enough, without further ado, "Tale of two Benders"**

The Tale of Two Benders.

Book I: Fire

Chapter I: The Isle of Fochu

In the words of my uncle Iroh."Fire is often called the element of death and destruction, but what people fail to notice is that fire can be the element of life, and light. Always remember Rin, No element is inherently good or evil, for it is the lancer who makes the element what it is."

When I first heard him say this six years ago, I had no clue what he meant. But it wasn't until I met a very special girl that I would actually learn what he meant when he told me those words oh so many years ago.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, allow me to introduce myself. I am Rin Narukami, I am the only child of the prestigious Lord Silas Narukami and and his wife, Lady Camilla Narukami. I was born on the island of Fochu, on my family's summer home, yet it wasn't until recently that the truth of that manner came to light, you see, when I was born, my parents were told that I would bring shame and dishonor to the family name by our "king" Fire Lord Ryo, who then ordered my parents to "Get rid of me." if they wanted to keep their good face in the eyes of the people. With heavy hearts they agreed and took my young, and defenseless form out of the palace to "dispose" of me, but as my mother and father left the palace with my infant self. they somehow bumped into the man who saved me from my fate, General Iroh, one of the greatest generals of the Fire Nation, known for his incredible battle strategies and his compassion for men on both sides of the battlefield. When he bumped into the emotionally distraught parents, he picked up that something was wrong, and after some well asked questions, he found that Fire Lord Ryo had sentenced me to death, outraged and disgusted by Ryo's lack of compassion and senseless murder, he told my mother and father that if they gave me to him and gave him ownership of their old abandoned summer home Fochu island, that I would be taken care of and they wouldn't have to worry about having their "precious" name tarnished. Long story short, they agreed and gave me to the honorable general.

However the story I'm sure you actually want to hear about happened about three months after Fire Lord Ryo declared war on King Schnizel of the Earth Kingdom. I was thirteen years old at the time and I was just starting to hone my firebending skills, using basic tricks like making a small flame in my hand to create light, to extinguish small amounts of flame etc and thanks to Iroh and his rigorous training sessions and my own quick wit, I was picking up the basics extremely fast, fast enough to impress the general. "You are learning very fast Rin, I'm impressed." Iroh said to me in a very proud tone before running his hand through my hair, rustling it up before giving off a soft chuckle when all of a sudden, a large, red bird with distinctive whiskers and a harness holding a small yellow scroll case marked with the fire nation emblem, landed on the arm of my adoptive father, its small feet gripping his wrist in a respective manner. With a small, serious expression on his face, he gently moves to the small tube on the back of the bird, before pulling the tiny red latch off and pulling out a surprisingly wide piece of parchment, which he then opened and began to read silently to himself. "What does it say, father?" I asked with a child-like innocence as my head instinctively tilted to the side. After a few moments of complete silence, the man who had graciously taken me gently knelt down to eye level and looked at me in a soft manner. "Rin, my boy, I hate leaving you in the middle of your training, but Fire Lord Ryo has asked that I attend a meeting with him about the war... So I will be gone for a few days." Having been down this road before, I gave him a sad look before looking at him with pleading eyes. "Can I go with you this time, father?" Even though I already knew what he would say, I always would ask, hoping that the answer would one day change.

"Sorry, my boy. You can't go with me, you are still to young to go to one of those boring old meetings." He said with a goofy grin before leaning in close and whispering.

"Honestly, I feel too young to go to one of those meanings as well." He said softly, his sarcastic jokes never failing at making me laugh. "You promise to take care of the house while I'm gone?" He asked me in a soft tone. "Of course uncle! You can count on me!" I said in a (not so) humble tone before giving off a unimpressive flex. "Good! I knew you would say yes!" Iroh said in between laughs before rustling my hair once again before standing up and walking into the house getting packed for the journey ahead. It wasn't till much later that evening that uncle actually left, but not before telling me when he is expecting to be back and instructing me on how to go about getting ingredients and preparing some basic meals for myself whilst he is away. Finally as he was about two steps from disappearing into the rabble of Fochu Island, Uncle looked back at me with a serious look and said to me in a few short words. "Don't go to the northern part of the island, please it's for your own good." To which my response was the ever responsible "I won't!" I said with some gusto as I began to wave at my father who already disappeared into the busy rabble of Fochu. "I hope you have a good trip!"

For the first few days of my father's travel I did intend to keep my promise, but as time went on, I got more and more bored, each passing second only increased my boredom as tempting thoughts ran through my head. (Why doesn't father want me to go to the northern part of the island? He wouldn't know if I just ran up to take a peek would he?) And after little more then a week of that tiny voice in my head constantly winding me down, my curiosity finally got the better of me. If only I had known what I was getting myself into.


	2. Chapter 2: The Girl in Ruins

**Tale of Two Benders**

 **Book I: Fire**

 **Chapter II: The Girl in Ruins**

"Damn... you... curiosity... for making... me do... this." I said in a failed attempt to catch my breath as my hands instinctively made their way down to my knees, body asking for rest after a 3 hour journey through the large, tropical forest that wrapped around the entirety of the volcano that resided quietly in the middle of the island. "Whatever father didn't want me to see better be worth all of this trouble." I said after a good minute or two of giving my lungs a break before continuing his trek throughout the heavily overgrown environment; a task that surely be impossible had I not navigated this jungle extensively when I was younger.

After about another hour or so of walking throughout the brush. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that I was not alone... that I was being watched... that I was being followed. With a soft look of uneasiness on my face. While every fiber of my being was telling me to run away from this feeling, I rationalized that if I was being pursued, whatever that followed me could very well be faster then me, and if I were to run, I would just trigger it's instinct to chase and catch me. So I continued walking at the same pace I had been before hoping to trick my follower that I hadn't noticed it's presence. All the while I was keeping my eyes open, watching, waiting, hoping that whatever it was would make a mistake soon.

Five minutes passed... and there was nothing but the sound of my feet crunching against the dark brown dirt.

Ten minutes passed... and the wind started to pick up, adding a ominous aspect to the slow beat of my feet against the ground.

Yet it was around eighteen minute mark when I heard a loud snap coming from my right, causing my head to instinctively jerk in that direction, my eyes narrowing as I searched for the source of the mood breaking noise. After inspecting the scene for a quick second, I immediately noticed that a sturdy looking branch of a tall tropical tree had broken and was dangling loosely from the the trunk, only being held up by the white, moist, fibrous interior of the branch. 'What caused this?' I thought aloud as I began to wonder three important questions: What did this? Why was it following me, and where was it now?

Unfortunately for me, I didn't have to wait long for the culprit to reveal itself. For no sooner had those thoughts crossed my mind, a heard a sound that sends shivers to me this very day... the sound of a twig, snapping behind me.

Out of fright I spun around as fast as I could, watching as a large monkey like creature, with long sharp fangs leapt out of a nearby shrub, its intention to surely wrap its powerful jaw around my young throat. Yet, almost as if I had done it out of instinct, I quickly shot my right leg upwards, and brought it down hard on the snout of the now identified tiger monkey. Causing it to yelp in pain as it fell to the dirt below, apparently stunned and confused by my quick reaction to its attack.

Seeing this as a ideal situation, I turned on my heels, and started to sprint towards my destination, not wanting to deal with the rabid creature I had already stunned. Yet I didn't get much farther then a few feet before I started hearing the loud, angry growls of the creature right on my heels.

Knowing that I wouldn't be able to outrun a creature like this in its natural environment. I had tried to perform a spinning kick on the tiger monkey, hoping to knock it away from me so that I could have enough time to escape. However, doing so was a mistake, for I had misjudged the distance between me and the rabid animal, and ended up missing entirely, and while that was bad enough as is, the universe decided to make me suffer more by placing a large tree root right in my way.

Next thing I knew, I was tumbling down a small hill, my back slamming against the dirt and mud over and over again, and just as I was starting to think that things couldn't possibly get any worse for me in this situation, the universe decided to pull another trick on me, for just as my shoulder was about to crash into the ground once more, my arm went straight through a thin layer of the branches and leaves and I found myself falling through a small hole in the ground before crashing down on a unusually hard yet smooth surface.

"Uggh... that hurt..." I said in a pained tone as I let out a cough, before slowly trying to rise to my feet. My hands pressing up on the cool surface, which I quickly made out to be smooth and tiled stone before looking up at the hole which I had fell through. "Well I'm not going to get out that way." I said as the sun gently cresting down at me through the canopy of the tall trees.

"At least that damn monkey stopped chasing me." I said, subduing a small, exhilarated laugh before quickly taking in my surrounding, my eyes narrowing as I noticed a long weathered and partially destroyed cauldron that rested in the center of the room. Other that, there was one other thing that caught my eye as I surveyed the room.

"There isn't a door?!" I yelled in shock as I looked around once again before quickly moving my hands up to eyes, rubbing them just to make sure that I wasn't dreaming this and to my dismay, I found that in my initial search of the room was correct, the only thing lining the walls of this moss covered room was a strange pattern that had been long faded and three wooden torches, all unlit and all in a triangular pattern a little above head height.

I had always heard that Fochu was the capital of the old Fire Nation, one that was led by the Sun Warriors. I had even found some of there old building in the past when I went out exploring the forest, but I had never been in a room like this, where there didn't seem to be any escape. Yet I was determined to escape this box. I was determined to see what father had been keeping from me, by any means necessary.

After a few failed attempts to scale the fifteen foot high wall that I fell down from. I began to run my hands down the entirety of the wall, hoping that my hands would discover a small switch or lever that I could press that would open a secret exit. Yet my searched ended up being pointless. No hidden switch, no hidden door, no secret exit.

"Damn it!" I yelled out in frustration as I slammed my clenched fist against the wall. My eyes welling up as the thought of me being trapped down here forever began its push into my mind. Yet just as I began to give up, I suddenly remembered something father told me long ago.

"Rin... if you ever find yourself not knowing what to do, remember to look outside of the norm, and get a new perspective, look for clues in the information you know to help you figure out what the best plan of action is." Just as fast as the memory appeared, it was gone, yet the words of insight had revitalized any determination I may had lost due to frustration.

After scanning the room once more, my focus turned towards the three oddly shaped torches, 'why are the torches placed that way?' I asked myself silent as I pondered the solution, then it hit me like a tone of bricks, and I brought my hand up to my forehead, gently pinching the skin that rested above the bridge of my nose. 'How did I not realize this sooner?' I said inwardly before taking my stance, my eyes focusing intensely as I began to breath in deeply. "Remember your training Rin, remember your training." I muttered to myself silently over and over again as I focused my energy into the tips of my fingers before shooting them forward with deadly accuracy, causing small, dagger sized flames to hit the tops of the torches causing them to light up in a instantaneous fashion, and as soon as all three were lit, I heard a loud noise that sounded like the shifting of stone coming from behind me.

When I turned towards the direction of the noise, I was overjoyed to see a small, narrow doorway open up. "Yes! It worked!" I said in a squeal as I pumped my fist up into the air. "Thank you Father!" I said loudly as I lit a small fire in the palm of my hand as I began to slow decent down the narrow hallway.

After what seemed like hours of nonstop walking with the minimal amount of light I had in my possession, my body started to slow down, screaming at me for putting it through so much punishment without giving it a break, yet I continued to ignore my body's screams for a break, knowing that if I stopped, it would make it harder for me to be able to maintain the fire inside my hands. That and I was secretly hoping that all this walking would make me even more athletic then I already was, though I would never admit it aloud. Though I am able to say that I was happy to see that after turning a corner, I saw a bright ray of light coming on through in the distance. My deep amber eyes glowing with excitement as I ran my currently free hand through my raven colored hair.

"I'm almost there!" I said as I began to pick up the pace, hoping to finally get out of this labyrinth. Yet as I approached the light, it seemed my excitement was misplaced, for when I crossed the threshold of the hallway, I was disappointed to see that it was just another room, albeit this one was a lot larger and much more elegant, like a grand foyer for a fancy hotel I had always read about.

As my mind began to take in every little aspect of the room I now stood in, I had noticed that a little ways off to my left, there was a boy that couldn't have been more then a year or two older then me and a girl, who was about my age, looking around dumbfounded as he began to walk throughout the ancient ruins in a cautious fashion, his golden eyes were darting back and forth in a nervous manner, telling me that he wasn't exactly comfortable. This was all but confirmed when he opened his mouth to speak. "Azula... I know you are in here just trying to play a trick on me... Come out, we have to go home for lunch!" He said softly as he continued to move towards a large center area, my eyes slowly tracking his every movement as I took notice of his clothes, the way he was dressed just screamed that he was a member of a high standing family. 'Yet if that's the case why was he here?' I asked myself inwardly. Though, just as I was about to call out to him, I heard the most unusual thing, it sounded like a whisper.

"Hey, you... get out of the way! He'll see you" I heard the small, cute voice say in a shushed tone, yet when I looked around, I didn't see the source of the voice.

"Hello...? Who said that?" I asked in the same hushed manner, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the voice, all while, making sure that the male in front of me couldn't hear me debating with voice from no where.

"That doesn't really matter right now, you just have to get out of the way !" The voice replied softly, and using my pinpoint hearing, my head turned to a large rock to my right. Curious to know who had called out to me and why, I crouched down and made a quick dash to a rock that would have been beside it had there not been a small, paved path between to the two. Pressing my back against it as I looked over towards where the voice had originated. When I did however, nothing could have prepared for what I saw.

Directly to my left, there was a girl, who couldn't have been much older then me just staring at me, her gorgeous golden eyes were staring at me with a look of unknowing, and then I saw her lips curl into a interesting and yet alluring smirk as the man walked ever closer and closer towards us. It was only then I realized that this cute looking girl in front of me was wearing very similar clothing to the male that was walking around scared, not only that, but her eyes were strikingly similar to his. After putting all this information together, it had clicked that these two must be brother and sister, and that this girl that was grinning deviously at me must have been pulling a trick on her elder brother, which in turned caused me to grin as well, which seemed to shock the girl as first, but as I held up my index finger to tell her to give me a second, I could make things a heck of a lot more interesting. To which she gave me a skeptical glare before slowly nodding, wondering what I was going to do.

When I saw her give me the go ahead nod, I squinted slightly, looking down at the ground to see that there a thin, nearly invisible thread of wire tied tightly to both rocks, making a makeshift trip wire. Then I noticed that there was a small panel of the paved tile way that seemed slight off color to the rest of the path, letting me assume that this was a simple trip wire into a pit trap this young girl had set for here brother, who was wondering in a completely different direction. Knowing that this wouldn't work unless he came in between the two rocks the trickster and me had been hiding behind. And without hesitation, I stood up proud and tall, much to the girl's dismay as she shot me a glare of fury, almost as if she was daring me to ruin her plan, which caused me to smirk knowingly before slowly walking over to the trap, stepping precariously over the wire and the pit and stood there, my eyes glued to the young man before calling out to him loudly.

"Hey kid!" I shouted out, causing the young noble to jump and turn towards the source of the sudden proclamation.

"Y-Yeah? What do you want?" The Noble child said back, his eyes narrowing in an untrusting fashion.

"You're looking for your sister aren't you?" I asked, filling my voice with fake concern as he nodded towards me and slowly began to approach the trap.

"Yeah... have you seen here? We have to get home soon!" He said as his teeth began to grit, the thought of getting in trouble because of his sister obviously irritated him to no end.

"Well I saw a girl who looked kinda like you, but she seemed to smarter then you, so I didn't think to help her, she looked like she could find her way out on her own." I said in a soft and condescending tone, which succeeded in my goal of pissing the young male off.

"Azula is NOT smarter then me!" The boy exclaimed at me loudly, as his strides began to grow longer and longer as he started to come at me in a angry fashion.

"Could've had me fooled." I said in a mocking tone, noticing the noble as he began to shake with anger, his pace increasing significantly as his fist began to tremble from the fury he had.

'Just a little closer' I thought to myself silently as I crossed my arms, unable to do anything but smirk as he was about to fall into the trap. 'Three... Two..' I thought as he was about to take a final step.

"One." I muttered aloud as he took that final step, and with a loud squeal, I watched as the angry nobleman fell through the false floor sliding down a large corridor as he disappeared into the darkness, then after a few seconds of hearing his girly screams, It was silenced by the sound of a loud splash, and from the sound of it, it sounded like the tunnel led out to the ocean, hopefully near the shore. Yet my mind went to the sounds that he made right before he fell in the trap, and I couldn't hold back a laugh that had slowly been building up in me, and to my surprise, the girl who was appearantly called Azula joined me, slowly crossing her arms across her chest as she looked down the hole, a devious smirk crossed her lips as he gave me a sideways glance, seemingly impressed by the way I so easily manipulated her older brother.

"Impressive, though it's not entirely hard to trick my brother." Azula said softly as her eyes slowly moving up and down my form, as if trying to look into the very being.

"I noticed, though it looks like I had you fooled there for a brief second." I said with a sly grin, remembering the quick glance I made towards her once I told that idiot that I had found this sister to which she responded with a simple huff as her smirk returned.

"Continue to delude yourself if that is your wish. I do not care." She said as she turned her back to me and began to walk out towards the large doors that led out of the grand foyer. Yet I wasn't about to let her go without finding out as much as I could about this girl.

"Hey wait!" I said as I began to rush after her. She didn't stop but I could've swore she had slowed her pace slightly so I could catch up. "You should know that the jungle is very much alive, and I'm while I'm sure someone as capable of yourself doesn't need a body guard, yet if you would like, I could show you to wherever you are going." I said in a soft yet oddly charming tone as I approached her side, my amber eyes meeting her golden one as she narrowed them to look at me, trying to read my intention.

"You don't think I need protection?" Azula asked me inquisitively, her brow raising softly as she scanned her eyes up and down my form. "You don't know who I am do you?" She asked another question before I could respond to the first.

"Uh...no I do know your name is Azula, but other then that, I have no clue who you are. But I do know that you are strong enough to take care of yourself." I said as I flashed a raised brow as well, my eyes glued to hers as she let out a small chuckle before walking in a circle around me, almost like a predator that stalked her prey.

"Oh, how do you know that I am strong?" She said in a venomous tone, her eyes unwavering as her circling grew more and more menacing. "How do you know that I am not a weakling who couldn't possibly be able to protect herself?" She said, just hoping I would say something so she could prove me wrong, and I was half tempted to do so, just to see how powerful she was, yet I refrained from such a thought, though I would like to see this at a later date.

"If you were weak and powerless, you wouldn't stray away from your brother and forcefully separate him from you. You're much, much smarter then that if you could lay such a functional trap." I said as I stood still, letting her slip in and out of my vision as she wished, just waiting for her to respond.

Yet what she said surprised me. Azula had started to chuckle under her breath before looking at me in the eye, her hands resting on her hips. "You're sharper then you look." She said softly before gesturing towards the exit. "Okay I find you worthy of being my escort home." Her words were smooth like silk and next thing I know, Azula and I were walking through the forest together heading towards her family's estate on the northern shore of the island. Yet the entire time, there wasn't much talk, just the occasional glance at each other as we approached our destination. Yet what I saw when I approached scared me to my very core, and I immediately knew why father told me not to come to this part of the island.

I saw a huge manor, with a amazing courtyard and a beautifully tiled pathway, the building was small but expansive, yet it was what was on top of the amazingly shingled roof of the house what caught my attention, a large flowing red flag with a orange phoenix painted onto it, which could only mean one thing.

"T-That's the s-seal of the r-royal f-family." I muttered softly as I turned over to the girl to my right, and she was enjoying my reaction as I began to feel the inside of my body shiver both out of fear and out of hatred...

What had I gotten myself into...?

 **So? What'd you guys think? I know it was a bit lengthy but I hope you all enjoy it! Please don't forget to leave a review if you noticed any mistakes I may have missed!**


End file.
